Best Movies 2017 On Netflix: ‘Buster’s Mal Heart’ Is A Mind-Bending Thriller Where Rami Malek Shines

This metaphysical thriller begs Netflix audiences to revisit it several times in order to connect the dots.

This metaphysical thriller begs Netflix audiences to revisit it several times in order to connect the dots.

Currently streaming on Netflix is one of the best movies of 2017, Buster’s Mal Heart. If you’re looking for new movies of 2017 to watch on Netflix, with rave reviews by both critics and audience alike, Buster’s Mal Heart deserves to be on the top of your list. Written and directed by Sarah Adina Smith (The Midnight Swim), the film stars Rami Malek (Mr. Robot), Kate Lyn Sheil (Hellaware), and DJ Qualls (Hustle & Flow). A quick watch at 96 minutes, every minute will have Netflix subscribers’ eyes glued to the screen.

This is the perfect movie to stream on Netflix, or to even own for that matter, as it entices viewers for several revisits. Similar to other head-scratching movies—like Coherence, Donnie Darko(also on Netflix), and nearly every David Lynch picture—this will need to be watched more than once in order to connect all of the dots (but even then, a few questions are likely to remain).

The artistic direction by Smith is stunning. There are several spectacular landscape shots deserving of being hung above the finest mantle, and in contrast, these are often followed by intense closeups. Like the character Malek portrays, the camera moves slowly with purpose and intent. Paralleled by the directional brilliance of Smith is the film’s story and reveal.

“In this bold thriller peppered with dark humor and interlocking mystery, an eccentric mountain man is on the run from the authorities, surviving the winter by breaking into empty vacation homes in a remote community. Regularly calling into radio talk shows—where he acquired the nickname ‘Buster’—to rant about the impending Inversion at the turn of the millennium, he is haunted by visions of being lost at sea, and memories of his former life as a family man.”

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Rami Malek portrays Buster, an erstwhile family man formerly known as Jonah. Per his usual, Malek gives a performance that Netflix audiences won’t soon forget. The opening scene is a shootout between Buster and the authorities followed by the tune of Auld Lang Syne. (With many unsettling scenes backed by sentimental songs, this is an efficacious recipe that repeats throughout the film.) Soon thereafter, we are taken to ten days before the shootout when Jonah was an average guy working as a concierge at a hotel.

Minute by minute, Netflix viewers are able to slowly start putting the puzzle pieces in place on what caused Jonah’s transformation. The first seed we see planted in Jonah, that lends to his extreme ideological shift, is a conversation that transpires between him and The Last Free Man (DJ Qualls). This scene is vital to the story, and to Jonah’s character, and the crux of it is rehashed several times throughout.

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Malek gives an award-winning performance portraying Jonah in three powerful stages of his life. The metaphysical story unravels at a nice pace eventually leading to a compelling, and mind-boggling, climax that is likely to have Netflix viewers baffled. But the more times the feature is viewed, the more it starts to make a little sense (but only a little).

With an award-winning performance by Rami Malek, brilliant direction, and a compelling story with perfect reveal, Buster’s Mal Heart is not only one of the best movies on Netflix, it’s one of the most thought-provoking movies of 2017.